Airborne Monitoring to Distinguish Engineered Nanomaterials from Incidental Particles for Environmental Health and Safety

Details

• Personal Author:
  Elzey S ; Grassian VH ; Johnson R ; Maher T ; O'Shaughnessy P ; Park H ; Peters TM ; Elzey S ; Grassian VH ; Johnson R ; Maher T ; O'Shaughnessy P ; Park H ; Peters TM
• Description:
  Two methods were used to distinguish airborne engineered nanomaterials from other airborne particles in a facility that produces nano-structured lithium titanate metal oxide powder. The first method involved off-line analysis of filter samples collected with conventional respirable samplers at each of seven locations (six near production processes and one outdoors). Throughout most of the facility and outdoors, respirable mass concentrations were low (<0.050 mg/m(3)) and were attributed to particles other than the nanomaterial (<10% by mass titanium determined with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry). In contrast, in a single area with extensive material handling, mass concentrations were greatest (0.118 mg m(-3)) and contained up to 39% + / - 11% lithium titanium, indicating the presence of airborne nanomaterial. Analysis of the filter samples collected in this area by transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope revealed that the airborne nanomaterial was associated only with spherical aggregates (clusters of fused 10-80 nm nanoparticles) that were larger than 200 nm. This analysis also showed that nanoparticles in this area were the smallest particles of a larger distribution of submicrometer chain agglomerates likely from welding in an adjacent area of the facility. The second method used two, hand-held, direct-reading, battery-operated instruments to obtain a time series of very fine particle number (<300 nm), respirable mass, and total mass concentration, which were then related to activities within the area of extensive material handling. This activity-based monitoring showed that very fine particle number concentrations (<300 nm) had no apparent correlation to worker activities, but that sharp peaks in the respirable and total mass concentration coincided with loading a hopper and replacing nanomaterial collection bags. These findings were consistent with those from the filter-based method in that they demonstrate that airborne nanoparticles in this facility are dominated by "incidental" sources (e.g., welding or grinding), and that the airborne "engineered" product is predominately composed of particles larger than several hundred nanometers. The methods presented here are applicable to any occupational or environmental setting in which one needs to distinguish incidental sources from engineered product. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Environment Environmental Exposure Environmental Pollution Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Welding Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Airborne Particles Author Keywords: Engineered Environmental Contamination Environmental Exposure Environmental Factors Exposure Filters Grinding Equipment Health Incidental Nanoparticle Nanotechnology Occupational Exposure Particle Aerodynamics Particle Counters Particulates Particulate Sampling Methods Respirable Respiratory Protective Equipment Work Areas Work Practices

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Nevada ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  73-81
• Volume:
  6
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20034972
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2009 Feb; 6(2):73-81
• Contact Point Address:
  Thomas M. Peters, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52245
• Email:
  thomas-mpeters@uiowa.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2009
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing ; Manufacturing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Iowa
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• End Date:
  20100831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d435067ba4bf40b19adc378c1b9f58c7927bdf820664c8e0524b57dc5d29c2c6a9e61834a2549e0679002cb904e2428781445e4e578fb9266a2f85816c91ac46
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/186979/cdc_186979_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.69 MB ]